


A White Lie

by solisaureus



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, My Heart Will Go On playing in the background, canon events, i miss it so much, i'm so mad that the m/m chrobin tag is gone now bring it back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-10-18 07:22:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10612017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solisaureus/pseuds/solisaureus
Summary: Robin lies to Chrom before the final face off with Grima.





	

During the few weeks it took to travel from Mount Prism to Origin Peak, the convoy marched as solemnly as a funeral procession. The demeanor of the army had been progressively drained of cheer ever since the resurrection of Grima, and as they made their way toward the site of their final clash, even the most optimistic soldiers had given in to the weight of the collective gloom. 

Robin tried to avoid people as much as he could, and in between the various war meetings he had to be present for and the occasional merchant exchange, he secluded himself in the storage wagons under the premise that he was taking inventory. Normally it was unlike him to shun the company of others so harshly, but after the incident at Carrion Isle with King Validar and his hierophant...Robin had been questioning every assumption he’d ever made about who he was, throwing all his comforting self-convictions into doubt. He had always pondered the unanswered enigmas about his past before he joined the Shepherds, but now he was unable to say with certainty that he was even a real person.

It seemed like a melodramatic conclusion and Robin had dismissed the thought as such as soon as it had first come to mind. But it had been steadily creeping up like a mold and Robin had been taking the idea more seriously every time he thought about it. In some senses he was as real as anyone else; he had friends, he had a lover, he had ambitions, he laughed and cried and hurt and bled like a human being. But one critical element set him apart and that was that he was not put on the earth to be human. He had been bred like a dog for the sole purpose of hosting the reincarnation of the fell dragon, and in at least one life he had already fulfilled that purpose and abandoned all humanity to become a monster. It was only through that creature’s own intervention that Robin was any different; if Grima had not razed his memory and left him for dead years ago then he surely would have found the same end. 

Chrom had tried to convince him that the one who served as Grima’s vessel was just another victim of his ruthlessness, that he was serving an unearned punishment, but Chrom was hardly impartial. The prince’s devotion to his husband was so raw and potent that he had stared his own impending betrayal and murder in the face and still refused to turn his back on Robin, and although his unwavering trust meant worlds to Robin he was starting to realize that he couldn’t rely on Chrom to recognize when he posed a threat. 

And now all his deliberations and doubts were approaching a boiling point after Naga’s insight that Grima could be slain by himself. It seemed that no one had made the connection at Mount Prism, but Robin’s mind immediately conjured a solution in which he struck the final blow to Grima himself, thus effectively killing the dragon by his own hand. It would be considerably more daunting to take on the fell dragon when he wasn’t armed with Naga’s Fang and the power of the Awakening, but if it could rid the world of Grima forever then it was a strategy that Robin could not ignore. At Mount Prism, Robin had taken a moment to speak with the Naga alone and presented his idea, and she seemed to have confidence that it would work. But she had endorsed it only with the caveat that, since Robin’s spirit was inextricably tied to Grima’s, he would also perish at the same time that he struck the dragon down.

Robin sighed and turned over the quill in his hands, staring wearily at the wood grain in the stack of crates he was leaning on. He still hadn’t told Chrom, or anybody else, about this knowledge, but he knew that he needed to bring it up soon. He was loath to invoke worry and he didn’t want to cause an upset, because Chrom would never let him forget that he was loved and he wouldn’t bring the agony of losing a loved one upon his enemy. But the stakes were too great to keep the issue under wraps. Because of Grima’s interference with his memory, he had always had visions of the catastrophic future that he’d wrought and he would gladly give his life if it meant sealing away that evil forever. He couldn’t put it off any longer. The captain had to know. 

\--

When the convoy had stopped for the night in the midst of the remote Ylissean countryside, Robin approached the tent that had been set up for him and Chrom a little while after he saw the prince go inside. With his hand hovering in front of the flap, he tried to quell the loud thrumming of his heart and focus himself on seeming calm before he broached the topic with Chrom. He knew that his husband was likely going to lose his composure at the mere notion of Robin sacrificing his life, and at least one of them had to be collected. After several full minutes of failing to slow his heartbeat, he inhaled deeply through his nose and pulled aside the tent flap. 

Chrom was sitting quietly on the small cot that they shared, stripped to his sleep clothes and reading a book that Sumia had lent him. He seemed serene but Robin could see the weariness sinking his eyes and the weight that hung on his shoulders. He looked up as Robin came inside and offered him a familiar smile. 

He patted the cot beside him, but Robin stayed standing. “Chrom, I need to talk to you about something,” he said, wishing that it didn’t sound so timid. 

Worry immediately filled the prince’s face and he set aside the book and stood up, moving close to Robin. “Is something wrong?” he said.

“No, I just...there’s something that’s been on my mind since we left Mount Prism that I haven’t spoken about to anybody, and I think it’s time to tell you,” Robin said, his voice more even now. 

Chrom’s brow relaxed by a fraction and he took Robin’s hand, saying, “You know you can come to me, Robin, I’m always here to listen.”

Robin couldn’t meet his eyes. “I know,” he murmured, and for a moment an unsettled silence filled the space. Then, Robin swallowed and spoke. “You remember when Naga revealed that Grima can only be permanently destroyed by his own hand?”

Chrom nodded. “The power of the Awakening can only put him back to sleep, I remember.”

Robin took off his right glove, revealing the six-eyed mark that branded him as Fell blood. “Well, we have his hand...right here.”

The prince glanced at the mark and raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure if I follow.”

“The fell dragon lives within my body, albeit he was the Robin of another time, but all the same...if I struck him down he would be slain by himself.” 

Chrom suddenly seized Robin by the shoulders, a fire in his eyes. “Robin! Brilliant! What a fortuitous circumstance!” A moment passed and he released the other man to put a hand to his chin. “But how do we know it’ll work?” 

“I spoke with Naga privately before the Awakening ended. She confirmed that it would.” 

“This is amazing news,” Chrom said thoughtfully. “But...you don’t seem excited. What’s the catch?” 

Robin felt his heart rate quickening, but suppressed it as best he could. “The reason it would work is that Grima and I are inexorably linked. I’m not just his physical vessel; he and I are one and the same. So if he dies...I die with him.” 

Chrom’s grip on Robin’s hand tightened suddenly, but when he spoke he kept his casual tone. “Well, I guess that’s off the table then.” 

The other man said nothing, casting his gaze to the side and biting his lip.

“...Robin, tell me you’re not serious. Sacrifice is out of the question.” 

“At the very least, the option deserves consideration,” Robin said.

“No, don’t put on your tactician mask right now,” said the prince. “Look at me. No victory could be worth losing you. Alright? This is not up for consideration.”

Robin pulled his hand out of Chrom’s hold and looked him in the eyes. “This isn’t a clever strategic ploy to win a war, Chrom. It could very well be the key to salvation for all of humanity itself, and to toss it aside would be not just irresponsible but bordering on villainous.” 

“There has got to be another way to defeat him. I refuse to accept that it demands your blood.”

“We don’t have time to search all the world’s archives for possible alternative leads, especially not when we have an option that’s been endorsed by Naga herself. This isn’t about me and you, Chrom. This is about the millions of lives that would be spared by the loss of only one. Think of what your sister would have wanted!”

“Emm would never have asked you to do this!” Chrom raised his voice suddenly, and Robin immediately regretted touching on that nerve. “After what happened to my sister, the last thing we should be thinking about is self-sacrifice!” 

Robin’s gaze softened. “I shouldn’t have brought up Emmeryn, I’m sorry. But it’s frustrating to me that you are so stubbornly against this even though, as you said yourself, the circumstances dealt to us are extremely fortuitous and we should not be so adamantly against taking advantage of them.”

“Robin, we swore to stand by each other, remember? We’re two sides of the same coin, two halves of a whole. You married me knowing that I need you, and now you’re telling me you want to rip yourself away from me, from all of us.” 

“You think I _want_ to end my own life?” Robin accused, and his voice was strained with the onset of tears. “I don’t want to die, Chrom. In truth I’m terrified to die. I’d give anything to live a peaceful life with you and everyone else that I love, but...it seems I just wasn’t born for that.” 

As soon as the first tear escaped Robin’s eye, all of Chrom’s anger evaporated and he wrapped his arms around him. “You were born into whatever life you choose,” he said, pressing a kiss into his hair. “You don’t have to die, Robin. You can stay with me.” 

Robin clung to Chrom’s back as he cried uncontrollably into his shirt. “Chrom...I can’t…I can’t...” he stammered between sobs.

Strong arms held him tightly, almost desperately. “Promise me, Robin. Promise me you won’t do this.”

Robin shook as he hid his face in the prince’s chest. He understood now that Chrom was never going to agree with the plan, regardless of the overwhelming advantage. He swallowed his protests for the last time and said, “You’re right, Chrom. I’m sorry. I promise to stay by your side.”

**Author's Note:**

> had to get some angst out of my system, I've been thinking about that choice from chapter 25 a lot and it's killing me inside. 
> 
> I know that I tweaked some of the details from canon but I thought it would be more feelsy this way.
> 
> Follow my FE twitter at @tacticalbird for more chrobin hell if u so desire


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